Copying

I always warn my students against this, but I'm totally copying someone else's ideas. I mean, seriously, I'm off for the summer! How could anyone use their brains in the thick coastal heat?

Anyway, Claire mentioned blogging about the people she loved and I'm inspired. I think I'll start with the short list:

Frankie
The Boy

This is easy peasy, right?
Husband.
Child.
But really(!), I have reasons.
The Boy has changed me, softened me and yet totally allowed me to be all I've ever been. He smiles when I do silly voices and looks into my eyes when I sing. He charges toward me (on his belly) when he sees me coming and acts like my peeking from behind the couch is pure comedy. He is, also, the definition of the love in my marriage.
Frankie + Leah = The Boy
I've mentioned before about my husband: awesome. One of the best things is that he and I contain the exact same ratio of geekiness to coolness. Other people may disagree about what that ratio is, but we're fully aware of our delicate balances.

I made a list when I was about 15 or 16 about the things I wanted in a husband. (I could probably dig that precise list out from some shelf or basket in a couple of hours if I thought it was important, but it feels unnecessary.) I knew him then, but he was not on my internal list of potential husbands: that really only included a wispy idea of a man.

I wanted someone who:

• was musical (especially one who could sing),
• was attractive (more attractive than me or less? Always the quandary. Do I want to have a trophy husband or be someone's trophy wife? I'm not making any grand claims to beauty here, just ),
• could make me laugh (so much more important than romantic: this I learned from a combination of ex-boyfriends: Shawn & Dan. One was the romantic poet, the other a constant joker. I remember the moment of epiphany: I was so much happier with the funny guy.),
• was more intelligent than me (not quite the Feminist, I guess),
• was athletic - specifically good at baseball (a girl's got to know what she wants),
• was Christian,
• & could be publicly affectionate (How many of us have had that boyfriend who won't hold your hand at the mall, but wants to explore forms of affection when you're alone together? Yes. I thought so.).

These are not groundbreaking desires for a girl of sixteen, but I honestly didn't believe that I could find someone with all those properties who would be interested in me. I know better than to think I just got lucky: this guy claims to have been pining for me since the 6th grade, so I know God just looked down at my list and said, "I've been wondering where I put that blueprint for this guy!" (Ok, so, if you know us, you know there's one thing missing. Frankie doesn't sing: at least, not publicly, right? When I made my list I was thinking of some bold tenor singing a solo in church, but I realize now that made-up lullabies sung to an audience of one count, too.)